Four hours away by our own self-driven car took us sometime back to the hilly region of Yercaud in Tamil Nadu. Driving through the roads from Bangalore to the foothills of Yercaud at Salem is itself a pleasure to experience, a rarity in Bangalore when it comes to pushing your vehicle’s speed limit beyond 100kmph without any road hump or pothole.
This was not the first time we were there at this small town of Yercaud. But there was a considerable difference how we were going to enjoy our stay in a hill station thanks to the attitude and service given to us by two different hotels.
One claimed to be a historic hotel which was present in this sleepy town for ages and presumably we thought they would care about their guests too. But Shevaroys at Yercaud was a complete disappointment. Neither had they, had their loos up-to-the mark as should a hotel that charges over 3.5k per night in this part of the country nor they had bothered not to greet a new guest at their hotel with stained bedspreads, pillow covers or messy pathways. When complained about the dirty washroom in the room, they did attempt to clean up the space but still it didn’t remove any stain marks from the allotted washroom -hence dented the hotel’s image in our perspective.
Earlier I was under the impression that it is the destination that makes the difference in a holiday. But over the years I have learnt about myself that I enjoy a holiday destination more when I am spending even a few hours in a clean, well-lit, airy and pleasant room hotel room. So thinking of our last stay at Grand Palace, we just walked into the hotel and asked them if we could see a room and book for a stay for the next night. We were shown a room and yes we were ready to pay for it almost triple the amount spent at Shevaroys with an extra family member in the room.
Getting a room booked instantaneously seemed heavenly and thankfully the next 22 hours at Yercaud made us feel luxurious and pleasant memory to hold on for a long time. The Grand Palace at Yercaud has some major plus points for a traveller who is looking for a relaxed holiday. Right from spectacular views from the hotel, the hotel is perched high above many other hotels and this is an advantage for the hotel and its guests. There is the option of choosing sunrise view room or the silent view. Opt for the silent view ones and you would be lucky if you are allotted a room that has an enclosing balcony that leads to the sprawling garden. The place also has benches spaced across the garden and one can spend the evening enjoying the views. There is also the swimming pool and it gives the view of swimming on top of a hill. Of course there is a reasonably good restaurant and a lounge bar apart from a small kid’s play area.
Make sure you carry badminton rackets, a ball if you are travelling with a child and even cricket set if are game to play the sport. There is enough space to play all of these games. We may not really visit Yercuad in the immediate future but the stay at Grand Palace ensured we did not come back with unpleasant memories.